In a brief video conference hearing, Judge Ron Forsthoefel issued his ruling based on an evaluation by the District V Forensic Diagnostic Center in Mansfield.

Grate, 40, is scheduled for trial Nov. 6.

He was charged with 23 felony counts, including aggravated murder, in the deaths of Stacey Stanley, 43, and Elizabeth Griffith, 29. If convicted of aggravated murder, he could receive the death penalty.

Last week, Grate's attorneys filed a motion claiming he is not guilty by reason of insanity. The father-son team of Robert and Rolf Whitney asked Forsthoefel to appoint someone to determine Grate's competency to stand trial.

Attorneys from both sides stipulated to the findings of the forensic center. The next step in the process is an assessment to determine if Grate is not guilty by reason of insanity. That evaluation is scheduled for Jan. 17.

The forensic center also will perform that assessment.

In addition, the Whitneys will have their own expert evaluate Grate.

"Because we're looking at the possibility of two conflicting reports, do we need to schedule an evidentiary hearing?" Forsthoefel asked.

The bodies of Stanley and Griffith were recovered Sept. 13 in an abandoned house at 363 Covert Court near downtown Ashland. Final autopsy results, which were released this week, indicate both women were strangled.

Grate also faces kidnapping and rape charges connected to a third woman who called 911 from the house, saying she had been abducted.

In addition, Grate has been linked to the 2015 death of Rebekah Leicy, of Mansfield, whose body was found in an Ashland County woods, and the death of an unidentified Marion County woman whose body was discovered in 2007.

Grate also has been implicated in a Richland County death. In a recent development in the case, the remains found near a burned-out Madison Township house in September were identified through DNA as Candice Cunningham.

Shortly after Grate was apprehended in Ashland, he reportedly told authorities about the site. Cunningham's remains were recovered at the rear of the house at 1027 Park Avenue East, which was destroyed by a suspicious fire June 20 or 21.